The legal noose tightened around Botha Mine this week as a Bindura magistrate confirmed a final peace order confining the company to its registered boundaries, two days after the High Court in Harare dismissed an urgent application brought by Side Electrical and Ouro Tanque.
In the Bindura Provincial Magistrates Court on Wednesday, Magistrate R. Chitumbura confirmed a provisional order granted on March 27, 2026, ending the legal limbo over mining operations at the Kitsiyatota site.
The final order directs Navid Incorporated (Pvt) Ltd and Side Electrical (Pvt) Ltd trading as Botha Mine to maintain peace by conforming to their registered boundaries being Mining lease 21 or Phoenix Prince Mine for the first respondent and Botha 1 to 4 for the second respondent.
The order further directs the Officer Commanding ZRP Bindura District to ensure compliance, with costs awarded against Botha Mine and Navid Incorporated on the ordinary scale.
On April 13, the High Court in Harare dismissed an urgent chamber application filed by Side Electrical (Pvt) Ltd and Ouro Tanque (Pvt) Ltd under case number HCH1681/26. Justice Muremba dismissed the matter with costs after there was no appearance for the applicants. The respondents were represented by F.P. Mashura.
The court actions come against the backdrop of multiple enforcement orders from the Environmental Management Agency, which has been cracking down on Botha Mine for operating outside its approved mining boundaries.
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On April 9, EMA issued a sweeping suspension order under section 37(4) of the Environmental Management Act, directing Botha Mine to immediately stop all operations conducted outside the coordinates of its approved mining plan. An inspection conducted by EMA inspectors on April 3 revealed that the mine was operating outside the coordinates of the approved mining plan submitted to the agency, constituting a serious breach of environmental regulations.
The order, served by EMA inspector A. Mupotsa on Takunda Chitumu at the mine site, found that operations at Botha Mine were being conducted outside the approved coordinates, which can lead to unlicensed land disturbance, unchecked tailing disposal, contamination of water sources and vegetation clearing without an environmental impact assessment.
EMA’s findings corroborated long-standing complaints by Freda Rebecca Gold Mine that Botha Mine had been trading in gold not extracted from its own concession and defrauding the Mutapa Investment Fund by illegally mining and retaining gold from Mining Lease 21.
Earlier, on April 3, EMA had ordered Guilder Treasures, a gold processing plant operating at Botha Mine, to cease operations and begin decommissioning its project after discovering that tank manager Pearson Aron was operating the plant without a valid Environmental Impact Assessment certificate, in violation of Section 97 of the EMA Act. The facility was using VAT leaching technology across 90 tanks and six boilers, posing serious environmental and occupational safety risks.
On April 8, the Provincial Engineer, who is also a Mining Inspector empowered under the Mining Regulations, issued a suspension order halting all mining and related activities at Botha Mine and adjoining areas under Freda Rebecca Gold Mine Lease 21, commonly known as Phoenix Prince. The directive cited grave threats to life, health and safety as the basis for the shutdown.
The March 27 provisional order, confirmed on Wednesday, had halted all mining activities at Kitsiyatota and surrounding claims including Headgear, Morocco, GMB, Gwingwindi, and Phoenix Prince Mine until EMA clarified the extent of Botha Mine’s Environmental Impact Assessment certificate.
The legal disputes trace back to competing claims over Mining Lease 21, which Freda Rebecca Gold Mine has consistently maintained is its lawful territory. In February, Freda Rebecca accused Side Electrical of unlawfully operating within its Kitsiyatota mining lease and engaging in deliberate mine baronage driven by deception and greed.
Court documents filed by Freda Rebecca managing director Patrick Maseva-Shayawabaya alleged that Botha had been brazenly mining gold without any valid mining title, effectively running a shadow operation within Freda Rebecca’s legally registered mining territory.
The dismissal adds to a growing list of legal setbacks for Botha Mine and its associates. In January, Justice Samuel Deme struck off an urgent application by Side Electrical that sought to block police investigations into its operations, ruling that the company had confused an interdict with a stay of execution.
Following the government crackdown and court interventions, security has been tightened at Kitsiyatota, with the Zimbabwe Republic Police clearing illegal miners from the area.
The suspension orders will remain in force until stringent safety conditions are met, including the restoration of a safe working environment, strict enforcement of boundary compliance and full implementation of occupational health and safety requirements.